Yankees slugger Aaron Judge flexes arm power against Rays

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.TAMPA — Aaron Judge entered Thursday on fire at the plate, then offered a reminder he is not just an offensive force.Shortly after giving the Yankees an early lead with an RBI single in the top of the first, Judge helped save a run in the bottom of the frame when he threw out a runner trying to go first to third in what became a 6-3 win over the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.Judge, known for his big arm, fired a bullet to third base to nab Kameron Misner for the first out and save Will Warren from having runners on the corners with no outs.“Wow, what a throw,” manager Aaron Boone said.

“I’m sure they told Misner before the game [about Judge’s arm], but he got to live it.That’s about as good as you’ll see right there.”The Rays also got to live some of Judge’s red-hot start to the season.

They kept him in the ballpark but he went 1-for-4 with a walk, reaching base multiple times for the 10th straight game, tying a career high.“I feel like he’s been hot for almost a decade now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said before the game.“He’s challenging.”During Judge’s prolific 2022 and 2024 MVP seasons, he was intentionally walked a combined 39 times — none of them by the Rays.

They had a few opportunities to do so Thursday but chose not to.“The most difficult thing is that — look, he’s maybe the game’s best power hitter and you could make the argument he’s the best pure hitter,” said Cash, who described this Yankees lineup as more complete than last year’s edition.“He’s right up there at the tops of everything.

The way his swing works, he’s got the ability to cover all pitches and get the barrel to it.And then with his strength, he’s able to mishit pitches and do a lot of damage with them.“We’ve seen him for many, many years now and it never gets easier.

You’re always mindful...